As a result of the 1500 or so advertisements that are paraded in front of our eyes each day, consumers develop tactics to deal with the overwhelming nature of the ""big sell"". Such tactics of engagement and avoidance with advertising are the centrepiece of this book, as it aims to further our understanding of the work advertising does in American culture and the work we do in it. Part One provides a broad framework for understanding advertising in US culture with chapters that explore the political positions that have led to the critique of advertising and an examination of advertising's roots in the religious carnival and market fairs of the early modern period. Part Two provides a series of empirical studies of the uses of advertising in everyday life, with media figures appearing in advertisements. Part Three develops a theoretical understanding of the paradoxical nature of advertising and its place within the chaos of modern life.